‘I Just Felt Pressure Playing With Michael Jordan’: Justin Thomas Narrates Epic MJ Story On The Late Show

Michael Jordan and Justin Thomas

Justin Thomas made an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Monday night and shared an epic story regarding Michael Jordan. Thomas joined host Stephen Colbert to elaborate on how he played a money-game match with the legendary NBA star when he was only 15 years old. 

He began the story by talking about how popular Michael Jordan was, which is why the NBA star is recognized by his initials, which is like a nickname for the basketball player. Then he began to describe what turned out to be an amazing tale that is surely a good party-time story!

Justin Thomas’ Epic Match With Michael Jordan

The golfer started talking about the time when Jordan visited the Kentucky Derby to play golf, way back in 2008, and would call Junior Bridgeman to set up a game, where Thomas’ father, Mike, served as the head professional. For a few years, Thomas served as a caddie, and in the third year, Jordan called Thomas to play alongside him for the last seven holes.

He described how, until then, nobody knew how Thomas played, and reflected upon the fact that Jordan never put pressure on Thomas.

“He knew I played golf but he didn’t know that I was decent and nobody else definitely had any idea…No, I just felt pressure playing with Michael Jordan. He was like, ‘Alright, I’ve got him.” 

Following that, Thomas continued to talk about his performance. He shared that he made four birdies over seven holes and that helped him pay for his first car. Then, he talked about how Jordan didn’t reveal the amount of money they played for, as it could’ve led Thomas to freak out. 

Justin did, however, go on to elaborate on how much money he won from the tournament,

“I won 3-4 grand. The assistant at the time was helping get stuff together and everyone came in from 36 holes and my dad’s like giving me a hard time. ‘You need to tip him.’” 

Thomas went on to tip his assistant $100 from his match earnings and he feels super proud of having played that game with the NBA legend and MJ not pressuring him through the match.

Post Edited By: Manaal Siddiqui
Justin Thomas Michael Jordan

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Suchita Chakraborty

Suchita Chakraborty is a senior golf writer at The SportsRush. She did her post-graduation at St. Xavier's University. For a year now, she has developed a riveting inclination toward golf, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy being her top-tier motivational figures to indulge in the sport. She even lives by the words of the Hall of Famer, "You can always become better", which impels her to excel every day. Her strong suit in golf is covering the LPGA Tour, especially the nooks and crannies of the international event, the Solheim Cup. As a pastime amusement, Suchita also engages herself in reading about golf controversies. Her favorite pick is ‘LIV and Let Die’ by Alan Shipnuck, which covers the PGA-LIV beef.

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